Pfizer Backed Down From Demand That Posed ‘Risk’ to South Africa

(Bloomberg) -- Deliveries of Pfizer Inc.’s Covid-19 vaccine to South Africa were delayed by demands from the U.S. drugmaker that it determine the guarantees needed to indemnify the company from any negative effects from the shots.

The condition was resisted by the government and Pfizer eventually backed down, agreeing to supply 30 million doses of the vaccine co-developed with Germany’s BioNTech SE.

“This condition posed a potential risk to our assets and fiscus,” Finance Minister Zweli Mkhize said in an April 14 briefing document submitted to parliament’s health committee and reviewed by Bloomberg. “Pfizer finally conceded to removing this problematic term.”

South Africa, which is yet to start a broad rollout of Covid-19 vaccines, has complained about the terms and conditions imposed by both Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson in order to secure supplies. Both companies have carried out vaccine trials in the country.

For more on the disagreement with J&J, click here

Pfizer didn’t immediately respond to an emailed query and calls to two of its spokespeople weren’t answered.

“As government we have found ourselves in a precarious position of having to choose between saving our citizens lives and risking putting the country’s assets into private companies’ hands,” he said.

South Africa is setting up a no-fault compensation fund to indemnify the companies against any complaints about its vaccines.

Mkhize also said that supply agreements for $10 a dose with both companies are non-refundable. Pfizer’s vaccine uses a two-dose regime while Johnson & Johnson’s requires only a single dose.

The demands were reported earlier by the Bureau for Investigative Journalism.

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